JFK assassination historic sites

San Antonio Express-News reporter David Hendricks spent the day, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013, visiting sites around Dallas that were significant in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

By Photos by David Hendricks, San Antonio Express-News

on November 21, 2013 2:04 PM

Photo: David Hendricks/San Antonio Express-News

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The former Texas School Book Depository building, now a Dallas County Administration Building, was the building from which three shots were fired on President John F. Kennedy's motorcade on Nov. 22, 1963.

The former Texas School Book Depository building, now a Dallas County Administration Building, was the building from which three shots were fired on President John F. Kennedy's motorcade on Nov. 22, 1963.

Photo: David Hendricks/San Antonio Express-News

The former Texas School Book Depository building, now a Dallas... Photo-5494871.74602 - San Antonio Express-News

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The three shots came from the sixth floor window, just below the top floor. left of the corner. The sixth and seventh floors of the former Texas School Book Depository now is the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.

The three shots came from the sixth floor window, just below the top floor. left of the corner. The sixth and seventh floors of the former Texas School Book Depository now is the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey

The three shots came from the sixth floor window, just below the... Photo-5494887.74602 - San Antonio Express-News

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Abraham Zapruder, a Dallas businessman, stood on the pedestal, also called a plinth, that is part of the north pergola in Dealey Plaza, when he filmed President John F. Kennedy's assassination as the motorcade passed by on Nov. 22, 1963.

Abraham Zapruder, a Dallas businessman, stood on the pedestal, also called a plinth, that is part of the north pergola in Dealey Plaza, when he filmed President John F. Kennedy's assassination as the motorcade

The famous "grassy knoll" of Dealey Plaza is shown Thursday next to the north pergola. Some conspiracy theorists believe shots came from behind the fence at the top of the grassy knoll.

The famous "grassy knoll" of Dealey Plaza is shown Thursday next to the north pergola. Some conspiracy theorists believe shots came from behind the fence at the top of the grassy knoll.

Photo: David Hendricks/San Antonio Express-News

The famous "grassy knoll" of Dealey Plaza is shown... Photo-5494901.74602 - San Antonio Express-News

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A riser for broadcasters is positioned in Dealey Plaza in preparations Thursday for a ceremony Friday titled "The 50th: Honoring the Memory of President John F. Kennedy." About 5,000 people have tickets to the event. The weather forecast for Friday calls for a high chance of rain and temperatures in the 30s.

A riser for broadcasters is positioned in Dealey Plaza in preparations Thursday for a ceremony Friday titled "The 50th: Honoring the Memory of President John F. Kennedy." About 5,000 people have tickets to the

Flowers for the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination are left at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza in downtown Dallas on Thursday.

Flowers for the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination are left at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza in downtown Dallas on Thursday.

Photo: David Hendricks/San Antonio Express-News

Flowers for the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination are left... Photo-5494935.74602 - San Antonio Express-News

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The former City Hall and Dallas Police headquarters and jail is shown on Thursday in downtown Dallas. In 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald was detained and questioned in the building until he was shot in the basement on Nov. 24, 1963, by Jack Ruby.

The former City Hall and Dallas Police headquarters and jail is shown on Thursday in downtown Dallas. In 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald was detained and questioned in the building until he was shot in the basement on

The former City Hall and Dallas Police headquarters and jail is... Photo-5494943.74602 - San Antonio Express-News

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A vehicle enters the Main Street basement ramp of the former Dallas City Hall and Police Department headquarters on Thursday morning. It is this ramp that nightclub owner Jack Ruby used to slip into the basement a minute or two before killing Lee Harvey Oswald at 11:21 a.m. Nov. 24, 1963, as Dallas Police attempted to transfer Oswald to the county jail elsewhere downtown. The basement, which has been remodeled over the years, is not open to the public.

A vehicle enters the Main Street basement ramp of the former Dallas City Hall and Police Department headquarters on Thursday morning. It is this ramp that nightclub owner Jack Ruby used to slip into the

A vehicle enters the Main Street basement ramp of the former... Photo-5494953.74602 - San Antonio Express-News

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The Greyhound bus station in downtown Dallas, at Commerce and Lamar streets, is where Oswald hailed a cab for a ride away from downtown Dallas to Oak Cliff, in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination.

The Greyhound bus station in downtown Dallas, at Commerce and Lamar streets, is where Oswald hailed a cab for a ride away from downtown Dallas to Oak Cliff, in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination.

Photo: David Hendricks/San Antonio Express-News

The Greyhound bus station in downtown Dallas, at Commerce and... Photo-5494979.74602 - San Antonio Express-News

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This Oak Cliff house on North Beckley Street is shown as it looked Thursday. In the weeks before the Kennedy assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald rented a room in the house. After the Nov. 22, 1963, shooting, Oswald went to this house to retrieve a handgun and to put on a jacket. This house is private property, but a sign Thursday states it is up for sale.

This Oak Cliff house on North Beckley Street is shown as it looked Thursday. In the weeks before the Kennedy assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald rented a room in the house. After the Nov. 22, 1963, shooting,

This Oak Cliff house on North Beckley Street is shown as it looked... Photo-5495019.74602 - San Antonio Express-News

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A portion of this Oak Cliff house on West Neely Street was rented by Lee Harvey Oswald and wife Marina earlier in 1963. It was in the backyard of this house that Marina photographed Lee with his rifle and handgun, a photo authorities were given after the assassination. This house is private property.

A portion of this Oak Cliff house on West Neely Street was rented by Lee Harvey Oswald and wife Marina earlier in 1963. It was in the backyard of this house that Marina photographed Lee with his rifle and

A portion of this Oak Cliff house on West Neely Street was rented... Photo-5495021.74602 - San Antonio Express-News

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At the curb on Tenth Street near Patton Street in Oak Cliff, where the black pickup truck was parked Thursday, is where Dallas Police car No. 10 was parked on Nov. 22, 1963, when Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination in downtown Dallas.

At the curb on Tenth Street near Patton Street in Oak Cliff, where the black pickup truck was parked Thursday, is where Dallas Police car No. 10 was parked on Nov. 22, 1963, when Lee Harvey Oswald shot

At the curb on Tenth Street near Patton Street in Oak Cliff, where... Photo-5495035.74602 - San Antonio Express-News

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The Texas Theater movie house marquee in Oak Cliff displays Thursday the names of the movies it was showing on the afternoon of Nov. 22, 1963, when Lee Harvey Oswald slipped into the theater after the downtown Kennedy assassination and the killing of Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit. Oswald was captured by Dallas Police in the theater about 10 minutes after entering the theater.

Patricia Puckett-Hall on Thursday shows the drawers from the original wardrobe furniture of Lee Harvey Oswald's room at the North Beckley Street rooming house from which Oswald retrieved his handgun after the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination. Puckett-Hall is the granddaughter of Gladys Johnson, who owned the rooming house at the time. Oswald rented the room for $8 a week while earning $1.25 an hour at his job at the Texas School Book Depository Building.

Patricia Puckett-Hall on Thursday shows the drawers from the original wardrobe furniture of Lee Harvey Oswald's room at the North Beckley Street rooming house from which Oswald retrieved his handgun after the

Lee Harvey Oswald's room at the North Beckley Street rooming house was hardly larger than a closet. Shown is the bed, with the original bedframe Oswald used, as displayed Thursday in the rooming house in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas.

Lee Harvey Oswald's room at the North Beckley Street rooming house was hardly larger than a closet. Shown is the bed, with the original bedframe Oswald used, as displayed Thursday in the rooming house in the

Lee Harvey Oswald sat in the third row from the back inside the Texas Theater, fifth seat in, when Dallas Police officers entered the theater to arrest him. He then moved to the second seat in, which is where he was spotted and arrested after a scuffle with police officers. The red seats shown in the photo, taken Thursday, are not the same seats used 50 years ago, which were long ago replaced. On Friday, the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination and Oswald's arrest, the theater will show about half of "War Is Hell," the movie that was being shown when Oswald slipped into the theater. Only 40 minutes of the 121-minute movie survives. The aging theater, built in 1931, will charge 90 cents for admission for the event Friday.

Lee Harvey Oswald sat in the third row from the back inside the Texas Theater, fifth seat in, when Dallas Police officers entered the theater to arrest him. He then moved to the second seat in, which is where